


Today, we escape

by moosh



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas, Drug Use, F/M, Gen, Pre-Relationship, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-17 17:58:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16100834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moosh/pseuds/moosh
Summary: It's Christmas Eve. Happy is out of town and Tony needs a ride.





	Today, we escape

“I will give you $10,000 if you come pick me up right now.”

Pepper rolled over to look at her alarm clock. 2:52 AM. She’d been asleep for less than an hour. “I – what? Where’s Happy?”

“Indiana? I think. Maybe Iowa? One of those states that begins with an I. Or maybe it’s one of the M ones – Missouri? Either way he’s not in California. And Rhodey is in Germany. Ramstein. Which I thought was a band, but I guess it’s an Air Force Base. And I can’t call a cab because they’ll take pictures of me and I really really hate that. You remember what happened with the last photographer...”

_Why is Happy in Indiana,_ she thought. Oh. Right. It’s Christmas Eve. Well, no it’s almost 3AM. It’s Christmas Day. And Happy had left at noon to travel back to _whatever fly-over state he grew up in,_ as Tony had put it earlier. Tony left early as well, saying that he was going to drive to Vegas to celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus with the rest of the sad saps at the craps table. He’d invited her along after discovering she had no real plans, and while Pepper’s Christmases were usually depressing, that sounded a bit too bleak, even for her. Avoiding all human interaction, other than the Chinese delivery guy, was how she preferred to celebrate the day.

“…and you know I didn’t mean to _actually_ punch the guy, but I just couldn’t believe he was chasing me on that stupid yellow moped and – “

“Where are you?” She interrupted, trying to think of the best way to get him out of Las Vegas.

“Burger King. Well, behind a Burger King. Santa Monica. Pico Boulevard. I was hoping it’d be open. But it’s not. Because it’s 3AM and it’s Christmas so of course it’s not open. I’m not even really that hungry so I don’t know why I’m here. I’m sorry, I know it’s late. You don’t have to come in tomorrow, today, though I guess you probably weren’t coming in today anyway, but the day after that you can totally have off, even though I think that’s a Saturday which you should have off anyway so take Monday off too. And Sunday, whatever…I just, I don’t know who else to call. I probably shouldn’t drive. Also I don’t know where my car is and I just want to go home.”

Pepper sighed, throwing her blankets off. At least he wasn’t in Nevada. “All right, slow down, are you ok?”

“Never better! What good is Christmas without a little snow?” Tony laughed.

Snow? Snow. _Cocaine._ Perfect.

“Don’t move. I’ll be there in like 20 minutes.”

“Can you stay on the phone with me? I don’t – I just – I feel like I am freaking out a bit and I’ve discovered that you’re a very soothing presence. Not that you’re present. At the moment. But you will be. Until then though, talking might be good.”

“Yeah, just um – “ Pepper began rubbing her eyes, willing herself to get up and out of bed. “Give me a second.”

This was not in the job description. In fact, a lot of the things she found herself doing for Tony were not in the job description, but after 10 months she’d learned to embrace the chaos.

Pepper pulled her headset out of her work bag and plugged it into her phone. “Hey, you still with me?”

“Yep.”

“I just need to get dressed and I’ll be on my way.”

She immediately regretted that statement.

“Ooh, what are you wearing? What does Pepper Potts wear to bed? Something red and frilly? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear anything red. Is that because you think it’ll clash with your hair? Because I don’t think it would. You should wear more red.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, and I hate to disappoint you on the PJ front, but grey sweatpants and a blue SI shirt.” She teased.

“Hubba hubba.”

“What happened to Vegas?” She asked, pulling on a pair of jeans and a sweater, changing the subject.

“I couldn’t get tickets for the Wayne Newton Christmas Spectacular, so really, what was the point?”

“Didn’t peg you as a Wayne Newton fan.”

“Yeah. Well, uh, Mom loved Wayne Newton. She loved Vegas. Which I always found strange. But we went a few times when I was a kid. Dad played a lot of blackjack and drank Scotch while mom and I wandered the strip and went to shows. Which were mostly terrible, but she loved them. I did like Siegfried and Roy though. I met 2 of their tigers once. Did you know they were dating?”

“The tigers?” Pepper asked, stepping out into the chilly California evening.

“Yes, Potts, the tigers. They’re engaged now, actually. I think they’re registered at Bloomingdales. Can you pick up that decanter set they want?”

“Of course, first thing Tuesday morning. I’m getting into my car now.”

“Great, thank you. You ever been to a Siegfried and Roy show?”

“Nope.”

“Well, I think the best one I saw was when I was 11 at The Frontier…”

Pepper settled in and listened to Tony ramble about Tigers and magic tricks and how he’d figured out how every trick worked except for one.  There was a slight mist in the air, which made the reflections from all the Christmas lights that lined the street sparkle on her windshield. That, coupled with Tony’s rather even-toned description of how one of their pneumatic lifts worked, made her tired. She hadn’t been sleeping well for weeks.

Ten minutes later, when she pulled into the parking lot, she could barely keep her eyes open. “All right, I’m here, where are you?”

“Hold on, I see you.” Tony said, hanging up the phone and jumping out of some bushes at the back of the parking lot. As he climbed into the front seat of her car, Pepper noticed that he was still wearing the same suit he’d left the office in, minus the jacket. “Hi, Merry Christmas.”

“Hi. So where’s your car?”

“Uhh, Venice somewhere. Probably. I got invited to this thing with a bunch of people I hated. And then I kind of lost track of time and woke up over here like near Muscle Beach? The original one though, not the one in Venice. Which is confusing. Since I started in Venice. But. So. It’s probably still in Venice. At Joe Fortney’s place. Not sure how I got here though because I really don’t think that I drove. I’ll get Jarvis to find it at some point I guess. I’ve got others. Can we go home? Can I turn on some music?

Before Pepper could say _yes, as long as it’s not Christmas music_ , Tony had turned on the radio and Andy Williams’ booming voice was filling the car. She immediately swatted his hand away and hit the seek button. _Feliz Navidad._ Click. _Jingle Bells._ Click. _Frosty the Snowman._ Click. _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas._ Click. She finally stopped on what sounded like dudes talking about aliens, but quickly realized they were talking about Santa Claus sightings. “Good god, I can’t wait for December 26th.” She started jamming the seek button with more fervor.

Tony looked at her, wide-eyed.

“Sorry, I just – I really, _really,_ hate Christmas.” She said, defeated, as she turned off the radio. She fished around in the backseat for a moment before pulling out a CD binder. “If it were up to me, I’d sleep straight through the entire month of December. Here, pick something.” She said, dropping the binder in his lap before turning her attention back to the road.

“Ooookay, you in the mood for anything in particular?”

“No, just, not Christmas.”

“Not a problem. Believe me, I know that Christmas can be a bummer. I…yeah, I get it - oh gross - Dave Matthews, really Potts?” Tony scoffed as he opened the binder, thankful for a reason to change the subject.

She smiled. “What’s wrong with Dave Matthews?”

“Nothing, if you’re a chick.”

“Well, last time I checked.”

“Right, well, I just expected better from you.”

“There are a lot of CDs in there.”

Tony flipped through a few more pages, with more scoffing and general disappointed huffing along the way. Pepper couldn’t help but chuckle because she truly could not care less what Tony Stark thought of her music collection. He paused on a page and held it up for her to see.

“Alanis Morissette, huh?” He asked, pointing to her copy of _Jagged Little Pill_. “Who do you think of when you listen to this? Who hurt you? Whose ass do I have to kick? Are you laughing again?”

“I’m just picturing _you_ trying to kick Adam’s ass. He’s like 6’5” and wrestled.”

“ _Adam,_ huh? Adam. Well first of all, his name is _Adam_ , so I could totally kick his ass. Second, with big guys like that, you just gotta go for the knees. They don’t expect that. Third of all, if he cheated on you then clearly he’s an idiot so I’d figure something out. Hm. Oh! Radiohead! Ok, much better I can totally do Radiohead. You ok with Radiohead?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Good. I think the dulcet tones of Thom Yorke are exactly what I need right now.” He said popping in _OK Computer_ with one hand and pinching the bridge of his nose with the other, trying to stave off the impending headache. As the music began to fill the car, Tony leaned his head against the window and shut his eyes.

Pepper’s mind began to drift as they traveled down the nearly empty PCH. Drifted back to Christmases spent in derelict houses or cheap motels. Back to group homes and foster homes and eventually, thankfully, to deserted dormitories once she got to college. She just didn’t really _do_ Christmas and hated having it thrown in her face all the time.

The music slowed, and her eyelids fell shut.

Tony, thankfully, opened his eyes just as they began to drift to the edge of the highway. “Whoa!” He yelled, grabbing the wheel and jerking the vehicle back into the lane.

“Oh my god oh my god!” Pepper screamed, grabbing the wheel. “I’m sorry, I just, I closed my eyes for a second I’m sorry oh my god.”

“It’s ok, we’re ok, are you ok? Here.” Tony skipped the next few songs on the CD and rolled down his window to let in some fresh air. “This one is a bit more upbeat.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just tired. I haven’t really been sleeping – oh my god, I could have killed us.” Her heart was racing. She was certainly awake now.

“Yeah, well, _yeah,_ but you didn’t and I mean it’s my fault for hauling you out of bed in the middle of the night. You - do you want a bump? It’ll keep ya going.” Tony asked, digging in his pockets and producing a bag of white powder.

“What? Oh god, no no no. No. Absolutely not. We’re almost there and I think the adrenaline has kicked in and, Jesus, that’s is _a lot_ of cocaine why did you bring that into my car? What if we get pulled over? And what if someone had found you passed out on that beach while you had that on you, Tony?” She was starting to get a little hysterical. Her lack of sleep hadn’t allowed her to truly digest the situation until right now. “Not to mention the fact that you could’ve _died_ out there under a fucking pull-up bar. How much have you had?”

Tony began to fidget with the bag in his hand. “I don’t – I don’t really know. A lot. You ever done coke, Potts?”

“What? No.”

“It’s wild. At first you feel amazing. The best you’ve ever felt in your whole entire life. And it lasts for like 20 minutes. And then you have a decision to make – you either keep going, trying to recapture that initial high, which you never will, or you stop and just accept the fact that your life is shit and that no amount of narcotics is going to change that. Cocaine is stupid. I should stop doing it. I – I guess I should’ve pitched into the Ocean or something. Or not bought so much, this is less than half of what I started with I think. Fuck.” And with that, he flung it out the window. “There, all gone. Do you want me to drive? I can if you’re too tired. I’m not that high anymore I don’t think. I could drive.”

“No, we’ll be at your house in like 10 minutes I’ll be fine. And I agree. You should stop doing cocaine.”

Pepper mashed down the gas pedal a little harder than she normally would as they exited the highway. Tony was mercifully quiet as he fiddled around on his phone for the rest of the drive.

Finally, they reached the gate at the bottom of Tony’s long driveway. After a moment it swung open and Pepper continued up to the front of the house.

“Hey, thanks again. I’ll get that money to you pronto.”

“You really don’t have to do that.”

“I know, but I will.” He said with a little smile before jumping out of the car, which hadn’t fully stopped. Pepper closed her eyes and listened to him almost sprint across the walkway to the front door. Once he was inside, she was going to pull around and try to sleep for a little bit before heading home. His footsteps stopped for a moment though, before he turned and started walking back to her car.

“Hey, uh, Pepper?”

“Hm?”

 “Do you – do you want to stay here tonight? I’ve got like a bazillion guest rooms that no one ever uses. You shouldn’t drive.”

She thought for a moment. That did sound pretty great right about now but no. No way. “No thank you, Mr. Stark, I appreciate the offer but that would be inappropriate.”

“What would be inappropriate would be me letting you drive home right now so that you could fall asleep again and careen off a cliff into the Pacific.”

“Don’t be dramatic.”

“Come on, dramatic is my middle name.”

“Your middle name is Edward.”

“See? I need you, I don’t even know my own middle name. Come inside and sleep. We’ll be on completely opposite sides of the house. I’m also going to tell the front gate to not let you out, so it’s either sleep in your car or come on in and accept my offer of hospitality.”

“Sounds more like unlawful imprisonment to me, but I bet your guest room is comfier than a Honda Civic.” She sighed, resigned, and turned off the engine. _It’s not a big deal_ , she told herself. _It’s not weird._ She was just going to sleep for a few hours and then leave long before he woke up.

“Which reminds me, we really need to talk about this car again. I know what I pay you. You can afford something much nicer. I’ll find you something.”

She wasn’t going to argue with him about this again right now. She loved this car. It had been her first major purchase when she started at AIM after college, and they were going to have to pry it out of her cold, dead hands.

Once inside of the house, they stopped in the foyer.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes sir?”

“Hey buddy, Ms. Potts is going to crash here for the night. Can you open up one of the guest rooms?”

“Certainly.”

He turned back to Pepper. “You know where you’re going, right? Just take whichever room he turned the lights on in. Should be fully stocked with everything you need.”

“Yes, thank you. This is – this is really nice of you I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. Hey, Happy, uh, Eve of it no longer being the Christmas season?”

Pepper chuckled. “Thanks. Have a good night, Mr. Stark.”

“You too, Ms. Potts.”

**Author's Note:**

> I actually have an in process 2nd part to this one about what happens in the morning, so keep an eye out for that if you enjoyed this! :)


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